Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Share your experience, challenges and success implementing the McDougall program with family and children.

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Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:56 pm

Welcome to the McDougall pregnancy support thread! There are a couple of us who are working hard to grow a healthy baby. I pray that this thread will be used to give help and support throughout the process!

The Jan 2011 Newsletter
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2011nl/ ... gnancy.pdf

An article from an older newsletter that might give some peace of mind:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/newsletter/m ... ril97.html

A few threads that might contain the answers to some of our questions:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... w=previous
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 39&t=29810
Jeff weighs in on this thread from 2008:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5665

Dr McDougall talking about pregnancy in a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxT_e6tpp0s
Melanie
Meeting the needs of 6 small people - 5 boys & a little princess
The latest boy was born at home on Sept 17, 2013
Eating right to give them the best start
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:04 pm

As of the last week of Jan I'm 5weeks along. I"m 39 years old and this is my 6th child. This pregnancy is quite a surprise at my age. I have been on and off McDougalling for the past 10 years and three babies. I tend to get healthy and slim, then get pregnant - this time was no exception. I guess McDougalling is good for fertility.

I have never stuck to the McDougall lifestyle through a past pregnancy, totally falling away while morning sick... creating a vicious cycle of varicose veins, etc. I *have* to stick to this healthy lifestyle this time, because at my age, so many more complications are possible.

Please share your successes, experiences and struggles. I hope we can offer lots of support for the current McDougall pregnancies and future ones that find this thread in later years :)

Please add any helpful links for plant strong pregnancies that you find useful...
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby Lasko77 » Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:51 am

Great thread!

I have a 2 year old now but I hope to get pregnant over the next year or 2. Thanks for supplying all of those links. I want to go over some of that information again.

Congrats on your pregnancy!

It is so hard to eat right with morning sickness, ugh!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby sail » Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:08 pm

Hi Melanie, thanks so much for making this thread! I'm also about 5 weeks pregnant. I'm 30 and this is 3rd child. I am a lifelong vegetarian, but have only started McDougalling in the last year or so.

I have never maintained a very healthy way of eating while pregnant in the past. My favorite go to foods were nachos and ice cream! Each time I gained 50+ pounds :crybaby: I also have a heart condition that caused me to start fainting towards the end of each pregnancy. I'm really hoping that keeping my weight gain in check will help prevent that this time around.

While I am absolutely overjoyed to be pregnant, it wasn't planned and I had hoped to be in better shape before we started trying. In the past I looked at pregnancy as an opportunity to relax on my diet and eat whatever I wanted, but not this time! I'm viewing the birth as an event I should spend the next several months training for, like a marathon!

My parents fed me Oriental Top Ramen whenever I was sick growing up, as a vegetarian alternative to chicken noodle soup. I know it's SO unhealthy but I've been desperately craving it for the last week! My current goal is to come up with a healthy noodle soup that will soothe my tummy and satisfy my cravings for ramen, without all the MSG!!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:05 am

Ramen...

I did a search for it on the McDougall site and here are a few suggestions :)

http://www.drmcdougall.com/pack_dry_soup.html
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 19&start=0
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... =5&t=23342
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... =5&t=18337

Hopefully one of these threads helps you find what you are craving :)

While I was researching, I ended up buying a few myself, because they sounded good and I am having a hard time wanting to eat anything except potatoes and ketchup right now. At least that is on plan :lol:
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:58 pm

I have a barley mushroom soup in the slow cooker from the Lorna Sass Short Cut Vegan cook bookthat I usually love. Grr. The smell of it is making me feel barfy. Oh well.

I've been living on frozen BirdsEye Asparagus Stirfry veggie mix with Happy Herbivore Cheater Pad Thai sauce poured over it for the past several days. http://happyherbivore.com/2011/09/celebrate-peanut-day/ . I stocked up on the veggies when I went shopping yesterday. At $2 per 2.5 servings (that I eat all at once ) it is not the cheapest thing, but with the veggie density, it sure is good for me and my little person. I microwave the veggies and while it is heating, I mix the sauce. I am only using 1/4t. of peanut butter because it is too strong if I use more. It says down and make me want to eat.

Otherwise, I'm eating slow cooked potatoes cut up and dipped in ketchup and whatever fruit sounds good when my tummy complains. I'm getting a ton of servings of veggies and fruit in this way, at least. I am losing a bit of weight, but because if the nutrient density of what I'm craving, I'm not too concerned.

I was making myself dals and homemade pea soup in my tiny pressure cooker, because nobody else in my family likes those. I can whip a tiny batch of comfort foods in there in the time that it would take to heat up canned soup, without all of the sodium and other junk they add. I haven't felt like making them in the past few days though. However, as I type this my mouth is starting to water at the idea of pea soup... I guess dh will be eating a lot of barley-mushroom soup over the next few days.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Sat Feb 02, 2013 4:31 pm

I have a barley mushroom soup in the slow cooker from the Lorna Sass Short Cut Vegan cookbook that I usually love. Grr. The smell of it is making me feel barfy. Oh well.

I've been living on frozen BirdsEye Asparagus Stirfry veggie mix with Happy Herbivore Cheater Pad Thai sauce poured over it for the past several days. http://happyherbivore.com/2011/09/celebrate-peanut-day/ . I stocked up on the veggies when I went shopping yesterday. At $2 per 2.5 servings (that I eat all at once ) it is not the cheapest thing, but with the veggie density, it sure is good for me and my little person. I microwave the veggies and while it is heating, I mix the sauce. I am only using 1/4t. of peanut butter because it is too strong if I use more. It says down and make me want to eat.

Otherwise, I'm eating slow cooked potatoes cut up and dipped in ketchup and whatever fruit sounds good when my tummy complains. I'm getting a ton of servings of veggies and fruit in this way, at least. I am losing a bit of weight, but because if the nutrient density of what I'm craving, I'm not too concerned.

I was making myself dals and homemade pea soup in my tiny pressure cooker, because nobody else in my family likes those. I can whip a tiny batch of comfort foods in there in the time that it would take to heat up canned soup, without all of the sodium and other junk they add. I haven't felt like making them in the past few days though. However, as I type this my mouth is starting to water at the idea of pea soup... I guess dh will be eating a lot of barley-mushroom soup over the next few days.
Melanie
Meeting the needs of 6 small people - 5 boys & a little princess
The latest boy was born at home on Sept 17, 2013
Eating right to give them the best start
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby Debbie » Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:46 pm

Hey Melanie. You should put up a ticker for your pregnancy! That way we will know how far along you are!!!

Cant wait to see and follow you along.
"It's the food" It's always been the food.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby jonesiesgirl » Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:56 am

Hi! I'm about six weeks pregnant with my first. I'm so happy I'm following this WOE and don't have to worry about gaining fifty pounds or more because I know I have a good plan to avoid that. However I'm feeling like a bad mommy at the moment because I've been having some nausea and bloating and just can't eat all the veg that I used to eat, which means that I'm not getting all the folate I need from food sources. So I took folic acid tablets for the past two days. About the only thing I want to eat anymore is puffed rice with teaspoon of demerara sugar, but I have been forcing myself to eat some fruit and veg anyway. If anyone has any suggestions for how to deal with first trimester digestive issues I'd love to hear them! All of the obvious ones like eat fiber, drink water, and exercise are things I already do!

In other news the midwife I saw last week wasn't at all concerned about my diet. I've heard that midwives in the UK are supposed to refer vegan women to a dietitian, but that was never mentioned to me. I did make a point to present myself as very knowledgeable about nutrition, and to say that healthy eating was extremely important to me.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby topview. » Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:59 am

jonesiesgirl wrote:Hi! I'm about six weeks pregnant with my first. I'm so happy I'm following this WOE and don't have to worry about gaining fifty pounds or more because I know I have a good plan to avoid that. However I'm feeling like a bad mommy at the moment because I've been having some nausea and bloating and just can't eat all the veg that I used to eat, which means that I'm not getting all the folate I need from food sources. So I took folic acid tablets for the past two days. About the only thing I want to eat anymore is puffed rice with teaspoon of demerara sugar, but I have been forcing myself to eat some fruit and veg anyway. If anyone has any suggestions for how to deal with first trimester digestive issues I'd love to hear them! All of the obvious ones like eat fiber, drink water, and exercise are things I already do!

In other news the midwife I saw last week wasn't at all concerned about my diet. I've heard that midwives in the UK are supposed to refer vegan women to a dietitian, but that was never mentioned to me. I did make a point to present myself as very knowledgeable about nutrition, and to say that healthy eating was extremely important to me.


How exciting! I guess that makes three of us now.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby PiPhi1993 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:04 pm

Hi ladies -
Congrats on your pregnancies - I had a hard time finding other pregnant women on this site when I was pregnatn, so I wanted to share my story with you all.
I had previously followed Dr. McDougall's plan but during my fertility treatments I fell back into eating SAD. And when I found out I was having twins I started following the advice from an "expert" on nutrition for multiples - which included lots of dairy and meat. Unfortunately (and not surprisingly) at 22 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and it was a HUGE wakeup call. I went back to basics and cut out all animal products and excess fat, and went back to more of a MWL type eating (more whole grains/starches). My GD was very easily controlled and I didn't even have to count carbohydrates. I continued eating this way during the rest of my pregnancy and delivered healthy twin boys at 37 weeks. I'm now 7 months postpartum and have lost all the weight I gained with my pregnancy. I wish that I would have followed a starch based diet from day 1!
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby sail » Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:05 pm

Hi again! Sorry I haven't posted in a while; this pregnancy stuff is exhausting! I'm happy to report that I made it through the ramen cravings with the help of Dr. McDougall's noodle cups, thanks for the suggestion!

I've been struggling with cheese quite a bit lately. It's always been my biggest weakness, and now it's so easy to tell myself that at least it's high in protein! I know it's not actually healthy at all and am trying to stay away from it. Are either of you struggling with protein at all? I never worried about getting enough before I was pregnant, but now that my diet is responsible for growing another little person, it's feeling harder and harder to ignore conventional nutrition advice.

Are either of you taking prenatals? I talked to my OB about them and she said that she supports me getting the nutrients from food if that's what I want. She did ask me to supplement with folic acid though. I'm taking that, B12 and a vegan DHA supplement.
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby jonesiesgirl » Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:23 pm

sail wrote:Hi again! Sorry I haven't posted in a while; this pregnancy stuff is exhausting! I'm happy to report that I made it through the ramen cravings with the help of Dr. McDougall's noodle cups, thanks for the suggestion!

I've been struggling with cheese quite a bit lately. It's always been my biggest weakness, and now it's so easy to tell myself that at least it's high in protein! I know it's not actually healthy at all and am trying to stay away from it. Are either of you struggling with protein at all? I never worried about getting enough before I was pregnant, but now that my diet is responsible for growing another little person, it's feeling harder and harder to ignore conventional nutrition advice.

Are either of you taking prenatals? I talked to my OB about them and she said that she supports me getting the nutrients from food if that's what I want. She did ask me to supplement with folic acid though. I'm taking that, B12 and a vegan DHA supplement.


Why are you worried about protein? I don't have the citation handy but according to the WHO pregnant women need 6% of their calories from protein. It would be extremely difficult to get less than that. You can track your food intake in the CRON-O-meter to make sure that you are getting what you need, if you are really worried. You could also check to see how much folate you are getting--many people following this WOE get enough without supplementing! I often get at least 10% of my calories from protein, and I don't eat any soy or beans, and I rarely eat quinoa or oats.

Personally I don't take a prenatal multivitamin (FWIW here in the UK lots of women take them but our National Health Service doesn't recommend them). I do take B12, iodine, and D (only the B12 is universally recommended, the iodine and D are related to my specific situation). For the past few days I have been taking folic acid tablets as well--I used to get 600 mcg or more from my diet but I just haven't been able to do that recently with the nausea. The extra folate is only required through about 12 weeks of pregnancy, by the way. I don't take DHA, I'm not aware of any concrete evidence that it's necessary, but I do try to eat 2 teaspoons of flaxseed every day (this is a little more than necessary, but I like having a buffer as sometimes I feel too sick to eat it).
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby sail » Tue Mar 19, 2013 2:45 pm

Do you have a source for the 6% figure? I've read that the WHO recommends 1.1 grams of protein per kilogram of pre-pregnancy weight. For me, that works out to 70+ grams a day still. I know that's *possible* with this WOE, but it's been very difficult for me with the small number of appetizing foods in the first trimester. I'm sure it'll be much easier once I start feeling better (and hungrier!) in the next few weeks. 6% of calories from protein is totally doable though.

I think I'm just nervous because this is like a giant blind science experiment. Normally, I play with my diet and if I start feeling bad I can change things around until I feel better. But when you're pregnant, you don't really know what affect you're having on the baby until it's born. By then it's too late to change anything.

I think I need to re-read some of Dr. McDougall's books. I've read Maximum Weight Loss. Do you guys have any recommendations for books that are more general health oriented? Maybe Starch Solution?

I've also been trying to remind myself that women have been having babies for millions of years; I need to just trust that my body knows what it's doing :)
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Re: Pregnancy Support thread - please join us

Postby Reni » Mon Apr 29, 2013 8:59 pm

Just wanted to join - although a bit late. Keep forgetting about this section of the board.

I'm 32 weeks pregnant, due June 23rd. I'm off work due to pre-term labor - most likely due to an irritable uterus. But it's all good - we are just so happy that we got pregnant without assistance!

Everything else seems to be OK, except our Midwives are a bit concerned that I haven't gained any weight the last few weeks. I'm not, though, because it seems in my previous pregnancies that I gain early and not late. It's just so hard to eat with the baby moving so much that it makes me nauseous. Also, the lack of lung space aggravates my asthma, so I hate to take up room with food!

Hope everyone is doing well. :)
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